For Acculturated: Advice from the Transcendentalists...

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of my favorite writers. I try to emulate him most when I write, though who knows if that at all comes across. Lately, I have heard many people say they never read him, nor learned about him in school, which shocked me. He was the absolute heart of American literature in my high school and college education! How could one discuss American authors and not touch on him? Sadly, people think they are far removed from the Transcendentalist philosophy that shaped the nation, but here's the thing - they are not. Especially in the autumn season, our love of nature and Transcendental roots come pouring out. Don't laugh at millennials for going to pumpkin patches; we all need to experience nature, as my latest article for Acculturated discusses. Embrace your nature yearnings, and nurture them often. Now go read some Emerson!

American as Apple Pie

Suddenly this week, the temperature has dropped drastically and the wind has blown in with it. October is surely upon us (and perhaps December, too). With the autumn harvest come merry dreams of sunny days in pumpkin patches and the deliciously haunting scent of cinnamon in the air. These days, fall is more often defined by the availability of the PSL than the changing colors of the trees. Marketing ploys and tactics are trying their best to turn autumn into a commercial sensation much the same as Christmas. Pumpkin beers are tapped sooner and sooner and how dare you resist a pumpkin scone that is shoved your way, hot and steaming. These efforts are certainly delicious and I am glad pumpkin is being revived beyond its jack-o-lantern possibilities into the culinary workhorse fruit (yes, fruit) that it is.